online magic
Colchester Voice Academy produced so much in two short years. Birthed on zoom, to give us all a mutual goal in a very challenging time, we decided to adapt our June 2020 showcase to an online event, showcasing music videos that we would produce together over the course of 10 weeks.
We could also invite any of our friends and family to tune in to the fundraising broadcast from anywhere in the world. We supported two charities with the proceeds from the show, raising nearly £900 in total.
Our unique project was streamed live on the Colchester Voice Academy youtube channel at the end of summer term, after an intensive 10 weeks of group classes split across three age groups. Under 12’s. Teens and Adults.
reflections
2020-2021
working online
My thoughts swing between immense gratitude for all the doors that opened in our online adventure together to how the pandemic and life changes have resulted in my almost walking away from the screen in protest! I think everyone got a bit fed up of it at various stages of the lockdown period.
However, alongside my own challenges and fears, I was lucky enough to be forging a production like no other, with the help of some amazing people, full of resilience and inspiration.
It was also a pleasure early in the first lockdown to present a couple of ‘how easy it is to use zoom’ sessions online for both my LMT Community of clients, students and their parents but also the wider voice teaching community. It really is a wonderful tool to communicate with many people all at once.
2021 Reset & Manifest
Late 2020 saw a burst of creativity with an online course designed for inquisitive minds. Meeting across 8 sessions this course involved developing self care and awareness practices alongside taking a deeper dive into understanding the nervous system, the mind and the body to benefit your performance, preparation and practice.
Designed as a case study, everyone who participated in this 8 week online course, completed trial sessions in many approaches to raising wellbeing, approaching voiced and unvoiced tasks, inner voice quizzes to help identify what areas you were drawn to focus on. Everyone involved experienced some lightbulb moments.
The study will be continuing with a reboot in January 2024! Check in with vocalfreedomcoach.co.uk for first news of the new course offerings.
Christmas 2021 Online showcase
With the intense video making challenge of 2020 behind us, we took a simpler approach to the 2021 Christmas showcase with students and clients sending in a video of them singing at home.
As we were craving to get back to performing live, we decided to get back on the stage from Summer 2022 but in smaller groups than pre-pandemic shows (which had casts up to 35 singers).
To bring something extra to this production Leigh spoke with her friends at Colchester Film Makers about the idea of the Showreel Showcase. Each act getting up to 20 minutes to present a mini-set, all captured from 4-5 cameras in front of a socially distanced audience.
June showreels are on this page. October showreels you’ll find at vocalfreedomcoach.co.uk when the editing process is complete.
Developing from the results
My practice has always contained how to maintain vocal health through all sorts of approaches. The trust of speaking or singing your truth, the truth of the song, the music has always felt important. How we all develop and how you can use coaching tools to help people achieve that sense of Vocal Freedom is of course a unique journey I go on with each client.
Self development coaching also involves helping strategise what is most helpful to support achieving your vocal and wider goals. My own 2021 manifest journey helped unveil a wider lensed view of what to focus on within my own practice and what resources to build to help others.
Developing resources
- Voice Exercises
- Articulation Exercises
- Breath Focus
- Body Scan
- Mindfulness Sessions
- Guided Meditations
- Qigong to Calm Anxiety
- Body Stretch Class
- Polyvagal Theory
- Vocal Rehab Exercises
- Vocal Freedom Podcast